ICAC: cotton production costs on the rise
The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) secretariat undertakes a survey of the cost of cotton production at three-year intervals, with the most recent survey completed this month using data from 2009-10. Thirty-four countries participated in the latest survey, providing 63 entries, including rain fed and irrigated regions and regions within countries.
Its research showed that, during the last three years, the cost of seed cotton production increased to $0.43 per kilogramme. The cost of cotton lint production increased to $1.22 per kilogramme a 17% increase from the average cost in 2006-07. Lower yields in 2009-10 compared with 2006-07 was the driving force behind the rises.
The net cost of production averaged approximately $1.15 per kilogramme in Asia and West Africa. The Fruitful Rim region of the US, followed by Colombia and China, had the highest production costs. India, whether irrigated or rain fed, had the lowest production costs for cotton because of recent increases in yields and high values for seed. The value of cotton seed in India is three to four times higher than the cost of ginning.
The costs of individual inputs vary greatly among producing countries, and input costs have followed different trends during the last three years. The cost of weed control more than doubled between 2006-07 and 2009-10 to $0.28 per kilogramme of lint production. The cost of fertilisers and irrigation also rose. However, the cost of insect control per kilogramme of lint was unchanged, and the cost of planting seed and ginning declined by one and two cents per kilogramme of cotton, respectively.
